North Hampton, OH Bomber Crash, Nov 1941

4 DIE IN OHIO BOMBER, GLIDER CRASHES.

TWO ATTEMPT TO BAIL OUT NEAR DAYTON.

ARMY CRAFT CRASHES IN FIELD AT NORTH HAMPTON, TRAINING SHIP HITS AIR POCKET.

(By United Press)
Dayton -- Four army flyers were killed yesterday in experimental flights from Patterson and Wright fields.
Three men died in the crash of a B-24 twin-engined medium Martin bomber near North Hampton, and one died from injuries received when an army training glider from Wright field crashed at Patterson field.
The dead were identified as:
First Lieut. THOMAS P. BACON, Radford, Va.
Second Lieut. JAMES P. LYNCH, West Haven, Conn.
Second Lieut. C. L. LUKE, Mineola, N.Y.
Staff Sgt. E. E. JOHNSON, Jackson, Miss.
BACON, LYNCH and JOHNSON were killed in the bomber crash. They were members of the 71st bombardment squadron stationed at Jackson air base, Jackson, Miss. They had been stationed at Patterson field for several days where the plane had been undergoing "accelerated service" tests.
LUKE, an authority on gliders, died of a fractured skull and multiple fractures received when the glider in which he and Lieut. FLOYD J. SWEET were flying plunged to earth after apparently striking an air pocket. The glider crash was the first at Dayton air fields since the army began extensive glider training a few months ago.
E. C. Davis, farmer who lived near the scene of the bomber crash, said the plane's wings "started to wobble" a few moments before the crash. The plane was said to have "straightened out" and continued for a half mile before it went into a spin and fell to earth.
The ship exploded and caught fire as it hit the ground.
Witnesses said that two of the crew attempted to bail out from an altitude of approximately 1,000 feet. The body of one of the flyers was found with his parachute partially opened.
Two of the bodies were thrown clear of the wreckage, one directly beside the ship and the other about 25 feet away. The men were burned beyond recognition.

Mansfield News Journal Ohio 1941-11-19
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!